Entertainment

Now You Can Google Like It's 1986

No, this isn't the latest Google Doodle celebrating the anniversary of DOS.

Instead, it's an imagining of what Google would look like if it was invented circa 1986. The design, by Squirrel-Monkey.com, has been kicking around for a few months, but an Austrian web design firm called Mass:Werk has created an actual working search engine that simulates the experience of "logging on" via a low-powered computer of the time.

The reason for the project remains unclear, but if the firm is simply trying to draw international attention, it has succeeded.

The site is the latest in a mini-trend: "What if X Was Invented in X?" So far we have seen Facebook recast as a 90s AOL competitor and Twitter as a 1980s BBS. (See gallery below.)

What do you think? Is the Reagan-era Google tubular, or grody to the max? Choose (Y/N) in the comments.

7 Tech Time Warps That Will Blow Your Mullet Off

1. If Draw Something Were an Old PC Game

Break out those diskettes — it's time to play Draw Something. This video shows a player guessing what's being drawn with a catchy chiptune playing in the background of an old PC. Drawsome!

2. If Facebook Had Been Invented in the '90s

This VHS features an episode of an invented TV program, Wonders of the World Wide Web, "the show where the future is today and today is the future." Check out "The Facebook" while it's still under construction.

3. If Twitter Had Been Invented in the '80s

If Twitter had been invented in the '80s, users could tweet things like, "Saw a real portable telephone today! Only a couple of lbs #lookingforward1988." They just needed to watch out for the dreaded "Jerusalem" / "Friday 13th" virus (remember that?).

7. 24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot

BONUS: AT&T 1993 'You Will' Ads

For the reverse, watch these AT&T ads — narrated by Tom Selleck and directed by Fight Club's David Fincher — to see how people saw the future of digital way back when. You'll be able to send faxes from the beach!

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